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PiUG  i b I3S 

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I1148-S 


MODERN 


SINGING 


METHODS 


ill  II 


THEIR 


USE  AND  ABUSE. 


BY 


j.  Prank  Bqtumb. 

REVISED  AND  ENLARGED  EDITION, 


BOSTON: 

OLIVER  DITSOIsT  COMPANY. 

NEW  YORK:  CHICAGO:  PHILADELPHIA: 

C.  H.  DITSON  & CO.  LYON  & HEALY.  J.  E.  DITSON  & CO. 
BOSTON : 

JOHN  C.  HAYNES  & CO. 


Copyright,  1885,  by  Oliver  Ditson  & Co. 
Copyright,  1887,  by  Oliver  Ditson  <fe  Co. 
Copyright,  mdcccxcvi,  by  Oliver  Ditson  Company. 


7/*/ 


Inscribed  to  my  friend, 

franklin  Sargent, 

DIRECTOR  OF  THE  LYCEUM  THEATRE-SCHOOL, 
as  a slight  token  of  my  appreciation 
of  his  service  for 


true  art . 


CONTENTS, 


t* 

r 


1.  INTRODUCTORY, 

2.  MEANING  OF  THE  WORD  “METHOD,” 

3.  THE  OLD  ITALIAN  SCHOOL,  . 

4.  SOME  MODERN  METHODS, 

(a.)  RESPIRATION,  .... 

(b.)  USE  OF  THE  VOCAL  CHORDS, 

(c.)  POWER  AND  RESONANCE, 

(d.)  TIMBRE, 

(e.)  ARTICULATION, 

5.  CONCLUSION, 


APPENDIX  TO  SECOND  EDITION. 

THE  OLD  ITALIAN  SCHOOL,  .... 

RESPIRATION, 

w USE  OF  THE  VOCAL  CHORDS, 

POWER  AND  RESONANCE,  . 

* TIMBRE, 

^ STYLE, 

O 



3S 

S APPENDIX  TO  FOURTH  EDITION. 

THE  OLD  ITALIAN  SCHOOL,  .... 

| SOME  MODERN  TEACHERS  AND  INVESTIGA- 
TORS,   


5 

7 

8 

11 

12 

15 

24 

26 

27 

30 

33 

34 

36 

37 

40 

42 

45 

46 


98247 


I.  INTRODUCTORY. 


The  most  important  word  in  the  vocabulary  of  Modern 
singing  teachers  is  the  word  “ Method.”  Every  teacher 
now-a»days  has  his  own  peculiar  method.  Any  pupil  who 
has  enjoyed  six  months,  or  even  six  hours,  of  instruction, 
can  talk  about  his  “Method”  with  as  much  mysterious  self- 
satisfaction  as  if  he  had  discovered  the  Key  which  was 
bound  to  unlock  every  enigma  of  vocal  training.  It  is  an 
interesting  and,  perhaps,  amusing  fact,  that  these  methods 
are  innumerable.  It  is  also  to  be  noticed  that  each  one 
is  different  from  every  other.  True  : — All  teachers  agree, 
that,  out  of  this  crowd  of  ways  for  reaching  vocal  salvation, 
only  one  is  the  true  and  Catholic  path,  and  all  the  rest  are 
heresies.  When,  however,  they  come  to  the  question  of 
which  path  is  the  true  one,  they  differ  most  emphatically, 
each  teacher  going  his  own  way  and  regarding  all  others 
with  righteous  scorn. 

The  beginner  in  the  art  of  singing  finds  a difficulty  in 
picking  out  the  true  faith  when  all  the  prophets  are 
equally  noisy  and  equally  vituperative ; so  he  often  spends 
years  seeking  for  the  right  teacher,  staying  with  each  master 
only  long  enough  to  upset  what  the  previous  one  had  taught 
him,  and,  too  often,  coming  at  last  to  the  conclusion  that 
his  own  unaided  good  sense  is  the  best  teacher,  and  all 
singing  masters  are  either  theorists  or  humbugs.  This 
conclusion  is  a lame  and  impotent  one.  The  singing  teach* 


6 


INTRODUCTORY. 


er’s  profession,  like  all  others,  contains  a few  charlatans* 
and  also  is  responsible  for  many  whose  instruction,  though 
honest  and  well  meant,  is  more  or  less  injurious  to  voice 
and  pupil ; but  the  majority  of  teachers  (in  this  city, 
at  any  rate,)  is  made  up  of  good  and  conscientious  instruc- 
tors of  both  sexes. 

The  tendency  of  teachers  to  decry  one  another  is,  how- 
ever, a fruitful  cause  of  confusion  in  the  minds  of  young 
students.  It  is  the  object  of  the  following  pages  to  give 
a few  guiding  principles,  that  will  assist  the  beginner 
in  his  effort  to  distinguish  a good  method  or  teacher 
from  a bad  one. 

It  may  be  said,  to  begin  with,  that  no  great  and  startling 
discovery  is  contained  herein.  No  method  or  system  has 
yet  been  found  that  will  make  all  persons  sing  well  and 
cure  all  vocal  faults.  The  theory  is  sometimes  advanced 
at  the  present  time  that  all  persons  can  sing  well,  if  they 
receive  proper  instruction.  Every  one  is  familiar  with  the 
prevalent  advertisements  of  patent  medicines,  which  are 
therein  held  out  to  a despairing  world  as  a sure  cure  for 
all  the  ills  that  flesh  is  heir  to.  It  is  difficult  to  see  much 
difference  between  such  advertisements  and  the  claim  that 
“ Correct  Method  ” is  an  unfailing  specific  for  all  vocal 
disorders.  Such  a method  is,  alas,  a figment  of  the  imagin- 
ation. 

The  young  student  should  disabuse  himself,  at  the  out- 
set, of  the  idea  that  the  best  master  in  the  world  can  make 
great  artists  out  of  all  his  pupils.  It  has  been  truly  said 
( speaking  of  a kindred  profession  to  that  of  the  vocalist ) 
“ Only  a few  can  hope  to  secure  the  great  prizes  of  success; 


MEANING  OF  THE  WORD  METHOD.  7 

many  must  be  satisfied  with  second  or  even  third  rank 
but  work  well  done  is  interesting  and  important  in  any 
part,  and  steady  perserverance  with  fair  abilities  must  in 
the  end  lead  to  success  and  competency  if  not  to  fame.” 
[ Circular  of  the  Administration  of  the  N.  Y.  Lyceum 
Theatre  School.  July  15,  1884]. 

No  teacher  can  do  wonders  with  all  his  pupils,  nor  can 
any  amount  of  “ Method  ” enable  one  to  do  in  two  years 
that  which  has  taken  the  greatest  teachers  of  the  world 
from  four  to  seven.  No  method  can  make  good  the 
absence  of  natural  aptitude  or  of  persistent  practice. 

The  use  of  common  sense  seems  to  forsake  even  the  bright- 
est of  young  men  or  women  when  they  approach  a teacher. 
They  apparently  expect  that  the  master  is  a wizard  who 
will  give  them  some  occult  and  mysterious  charm  that 
will  work  a magic  transformation  in  their  voices  at  once. 
It  cannot  be  too  strongly  insisted  that  the  art  of  singing 
is  not  an  occult  thing.  It  is  very  much  like  the  carpen- 
ter’s trade  : one  must  have  some  aptitude  for  it  to  begin 
with ; next  he  must  learn  how  to  use  the  tools  of  his  craft ; 
finally,  he  must  acquire  mechanical  dexterity  by  practice. 
Intelligent  and  persistent  practice  is  the  key  to  the  prob- 
lem. 

II.  MEANING  OF  THE  WORD  “METHOD.” 

The  question  then  arises : “ What  practice  is  intelligent 
and  what  is  not  intelligent”?  “ How  shall  we  use  our 
intelligence  in  developing  the  voice  ” ? Here  we  come  to 
the  question  of  Method.  There  is  no  word  more  fre- 
quently used  and  less  understood.  “ Method  ” means  the 
way  in  which  a thing  is  done.  It  is  the  means  to  an  end; 


8 


THE  OLD  ITALIAN  SCHOOL. 


it  is  not  the  end  itself.  A singer’s  method  is  not  the  tone 
he  produces : it  is  the  way  in  which  he  uses  his  vocal  appa- 
ratus to  produce  that  tone.  If  a teacher  says  “That  tone 
is  harsh,  sing  more  sweetly,”  he  has  given  no  method  to 
his  pupil.  He  has  asked  the  scholar  to  change  his  tone 
but  has  not  shown  him  how  to  do  it.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  he  directs  the  pupil  to  keep  back  the  pressure  of  the 
breath,  or  to  change  the  location  of  the  tone  ; if  he  instructs 
him  in  regard  to  the  correct  use  of  his  vocal  chords,  or 
speaks  of  the  position  of  his  tongue,  of  his  diaphragm,  of 
his  mouth  etc.,  he  gives  him  method;  for  these  things  are 
not  an  end  in  themselves,  but  are  employed  as  means. 
They  are  the  ways  in  which  the  teacher  desires  the  pupil 
to  use  his  or  her  vocal  apparatus,  in  order  that  the  end, 
artistic  singing,  may  be  reached. 

People  often  say  they  like  a singer’s  method,  when  they 
mean  that  they  like  his  voice.  They  admire  the  result, 
while  perfectly  ignorant  of  the  way  in  which  it  is  pro- 
duced. 

We  mean,  then,  by  method,  the  way  in  which  the  voice 
is  produced  and  controlled,  as  distinguished  from  the 
voice  itself.  The  next  step  is  to  find  out  what  is  the  true 
method  among  all  these  conflicting  views  regarding  the 
voice.  When  doctors  disagree,  who  shall  decide? 

III.  THE  OLD  ITALIAN  SCHOOL. 

To  the  wise  seeker  after  truth  the  teachings  of  experi* 
ence  are  always  valuable.  We  shall  be  materially  aided 
in  our  search  for  the  true  method  by  turning  for  a moment 
to  the  past  history  of  the  art  of  singing. 


THE  OLD  ITALIAN  SCHOOL. 


9 


The  Italian  teachers  of  the  early  period  of  this  art  had 
so  little  method  that  it  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  existed 
with  them.  In  fact,  the  word  method,  as  now  used,  is  of 
comparatively  modern  origin.  The  founders  of  the  art  of 
singing  aimed  at  results  directly ; the  manner  of  using  the 
vocal  apparatus  for  the  purpose  of  reaching  those  results 
troubled  them  comparatively  little.  The  pupil  was  told 
to  sustain  each  note  of  his  voice,  beginning  pianissimo , 
and  giving  the  crescendo , and  diminuendo . He  was  also 
given  certain  vocal  exercises  to  develop  his  voice  and 
render  it  flexible,  and  at  the  proper  time  his  training  was 
completed  by  the  singing  of  elaborate  vocalizations  and 
songs.  As  far  as  the  range  of  the  voice  was  concerned, 
he  sang  at  first  only  those  notes  which  were  natural  to  his 
voice,  and  trusted  to  time  and  practice  to  increase  its 
extent. 

The  old  Italian  teacher  took  the  voice  as  he  found  it. 
He  began  with  the  simplest  and  easiest  work,  and  trusted  to 
patient  and  long  continued  exercise  to  develop  the  vocal 
apparatus. 

In  all  this  there  is  no  method,  as  we  understand  the 
term.  The  result  is  aimed  at  directly.  The  manner  of 
getting  it  is  not  shown.  There  is  no  conscious  control  of 
the  vocal  apparatus  for  the  purpose  of  effecting  a certain 
result.  These  old  teachers  taught  no  elaborate  system  of 
respiration.  They  had  not  dissected  the  “ spinal  accesso- 
ry system.”  “ Sympathetic  vibrations,”  and  “over-tones,” 
were  as  Greek  unto  them. 

Nevertheless,  the  question  of  how  to  use  the  vocal 


10 


THE  OLD  ITALIAN  SCHOOL. 


apparatus  must  have  arisen.  A simple  method  must  Lav  e 
formed  a part  of  the  training  process  of  the  old  masters. 

It  is  somewhat  difficult  to  find  out  what  this  method 
was  ; as  the  Italian  school  has  always  rested  almost  entirely 
on  traditions  passed  down  orally  from  teacher  to  pupil, 
and  rarely  written  out  for  publication.  Some  of  the 
greatest  teachers  of  the  old  school  left  not  enough  in  print 
to  cover  a good  sized  page.  They  left  pupils,  however, 
who  made  them  famous.  Some  modern  teachers  seem  to 
have  succeeded  better  in  making  books,  than  pupils. 

This  much  we  know : The  method  of  the  old  school 
was  simple.  Some  of  its  guiding  principles  have  come 
down  to  us.  A more  extended  account  of  this  school,  as 
exemplified  by  Crescentini,  Lablache,  Farinelli,  Porpora, 
and  other  great  artists  and  teachers,  is  contained  in  a 
pamphlet  entitled  “The  Neapolitan  School,”  by  Vincenzo 
Cirillo,  published  by  Geo.  II.  Ellis,  Boston,  Signor 
Cirillo  is  one  of  the  few  Italian  teachers  who  have  visited 
this  country  who  are  entitled  to  speak  with  authority  on 
this  subject.  This  pamphlet  is  now  out  of  print,  but 
Sig.  Cirillo  has  been  written  to,  at  Rome,  and  an  endeavor 
will  be  made  to  supply  his  pamphlet  to  those  desiring  it. 
Application  may  be  made  to  J.  Frank  Botume,  Boston. 

The  rule  as  to  breathing  was,  in  substance  : “ Breathe 

naturally,  quietly,  and  without  effort ; husband  and 
economize  the  breath  during  the  emission  of  the  tone.” 
The  shoulders  were  not  to  be  raised,  except  for  an  extra* 
ordinary  effort.  It  is  said  of  Rubini,  that  it  was  impossi- 
ble to  tell  when  he  took  a breath. 

The  upper  tones  of  the  female  voice  were  to  be  felt  in 


SOME  MODERN  METHODS. 


11 


the  head,  and  the  lower  tones  of  all  voices  in  the  chest. 
The  upper  tones  of  the  male  voice  were  of  a mixed  or 
medium  character,  between  chest  and  head.  The  old 
school  had  no  such  elaborate  system  of  registers  as  are 
often  used  at  present. 

These  simple  rules,  and  others  similar  to  them,  embraced 
the  method  of  the  old  “ Maestro,”  but  his  method  was  not 
his  main  reliance.  He  trusted,  above  all  things,  to  the 
power  of  exercise  to  develop  the  voice,  just  as  the  gymnast 
trains  himself  for  feats  of  strength  by  attempting  first 
gentle  ones  and  finally  those  that  are  more  arduous. 
This  exercise  was  continued  for  five,  six,  or  seven  years, 
and,  at  the  end  of  the  period  of  instruction,  the  pupil  was 
able  to  execute  music,  the  technical  difficulty  of  which 
would  appal  almost  ail  modern  singers. 

IV.  SOME  MODERN  METHODS. 

Gradually  this  system  was  changed  by  the  introduction 
of  more  brain  work.  Modern  times  have  been  famous  for 
the  invention  of  labor  saving  appliances.  A demand  arose 
for  something  different  from  the  slow  and  unintellectual 
process  of  the  old  Italian  School.  Pupils  wanted  their 
course  shortened  (for  the  moderns  are  an  impatient  race). 
They  were  not  satisfied  with  a teacher  who  iterated  and 
reiterated,  month  after  month,  the  common  sense  which 
they  already  knew  by  heart.  They  cried  for  some  new 
idea  at  every  lesspn. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  more  intelligent  teachers  and 
many  scientists  felt  that  there  must  be  in  modern  processes 
of  scientific  investigation  a means  of  acquiring  new  and 


12 


RESPIRATION . 


valuable  ideas  regarding  the  production  and  control  of  the 
voice. 

Thus  began  the  holiday  of  methods.  It  too  often 
happened  that  the  more  mysterious  and  unintelligible  a 
teacher’s  method  was,  the  better  the  pupil  was  pleased. 
Whatever  nobody  would  naturally  think  of,  that  must  be 
the  great  secret.  Pupils  were  taught  that  the  vocal  chords 
had  nothing  to  do  with  the  production  of  the  voice,  that 
the  ribs  should  not  be  used  in  breathing,  and  other  equally 
wonderful  things.  Such  abnormal  methods  were  more  in 
vogue  a few  years  ago  than  at  present. 

The  results  of  scientific  investigation  have  been,  on  the 
whole,  of  great  benefit  to  vocal  art.  While  many  vocal 
problems  remain  unsolved,  the  student  who  should  study, 
or  the  teacher  who  should  teach,  today,  without  careful 
consideration  of  these  results,  would  do  so  at  the  peril  of 
finding  himself  behind  the  times.  These  results  are  main- 
ly concerned  with  the  following  subjects,  viz : — ( a ) Respir- 
ation ; ( b ) Use  of  the  vocal  chords ; (c)  Power  and  Reso- 
nance ; (cl)  Timbre ; (e)  Articulation. 

It  would  be  beyond  our  scope,  to  take  a complete  view 
of  the  investigations  into  these  subjects.  A summary  of 
some  of  the  principal  results  is  all  that  is  necessary  to  our 
purpose.  This  will  now  be  given  : 

o.  RESPIRATION. 

The  first  thing  that  a singer  does,  in  preparing  to  make 
a tone,  is  to  take  a breath.  The  manner  of  doing  this 
has  always  been  considered  of  great  importance.  Two 
methods  of  respiration  have  been  principally  taught, 

% 


RESPIRATION. 


13 


These  are  generally  distinguished  from  each  other  by  the 
terms  “ Clavicular”  on  the  one  hand,  and  u Abdominal” 
(or  “ Diaphragmatic  w)  on  the  other. 

The  clavicular  mode  of  taking  breath  consists  in  throw- 
ing out  the  chest,  and  at  the  same  time  drawing  in  the 
abdomen.  It  is  said  to  be  taught  at  the  Conservatory  at 
Paris.  The  abdominal  mode  consists  in  an  external  expan- 
sion of  the  abdomen,  immediately  followed  by  the  expan- 
sion of  the  lower  ribs,  with  but  little  motion  in  the  upper 
chest,  and  none  at  the  collar  bone. 

But  slight  knowledge  of  physiological  laws  is  necessary 
to  show  that  the  clavicular  mode  is  unnatural,  and  there- 
fore wrong.  In  taking  a breath,  naturally  and  properly, 
the  diaphragm  descends,  pressing  out  the  lower  ribs,  and 
pushing  before  itself  the  contents  of  the  abdomen.  A 
drawing  in  of  the  abdomen  must  interfere  with  this  down- 
ward motion  of  the  diaphragm,  by  exerting  pressure 
upwards  against  it.  The  lungs  are  broader  at  their  bases 
than  at  their  tops,  and  the  lower  ribs  are  looser  and  more 
easily  expanded  than  the  upper  ribs.  Hence  a normal  inspi- 
ration will  expand  the  chest  more  at  the  lower  than  at  the 
upper  part. 

We  have  the  testimony  of  physicians  to  the  effect  that 
many  of  the  throat  ailments  of  singers  may  be  brought 
on  or  exagerated  by  the  strain  on  the  inside  of  the  throat 
that  accompanies  singing  in  the  clavicular  method. 

It  is  asserted,  with  much  plausibility,  that  the  abdominal 
mode  follows  natural  laws.  The  subject  might  be  dis- 
missed with  an  approval  of  that  method,  were  it  not  for 


14 


RESPIRATION. 


the  fact  that  singers  employing  it  seem  to  be  rather  too 
subject  to  constipation,  dyspepsia,  liver  troubles,  and  other 
disorders  of  the  stomach  and  abdominal  region.  It  is 
apparently  well  settled,  that  this  system  of  breathing, 
(at  least,  as  taught  by  most  teachers)  has  a tendency  to 
cause  serious  uterine  troubles  in  female  singers.  This  is 
a well  known  fact  among  physicians.  For  a convincing 
discussion  of  this  topic,  the  reader  is  referred  to  a pam- 
phlet by  Dr.  Clifton  E.  Wing,  of  Boston,  entitled  “ The 
6 Abdominal  Method  ’ of  Singing  and  Breathing  as  a cause 
of  ‘Female  Weaknesses.’  ” [A  paper  read  before  the 
Boston  Society  for  Medical  Improvement , Nov.  22,  1880, 
and  communicated  to  the  Boston  Medical  and  Surgical 
Journal']. 

The  writer  may  be  permitted  to  describe  here  the  mode 
of  breathing  which  his  experience  has  led  him  to  follow. 

Let  the  pupil  stand  erect,  neither  throwing  out  the  chest 
artificially,  nor  on  the  other  hand,  stooping  forward.  The 
breath  should  then  be  taken  quietly  and  easily,  without 
any  very  pronounced  lifting  of  the  shoulders  and  without 
drawing  in  the  abdomen.  The  pupil  should  not  endeavor 
to  get  a marked  expansion  of  the  abdominal  region,  unless  the 
same  comes  naturally  and  without  effort,  and  should  allow 
the  ribs  to  expand  freely,  laterally,  with  a moderate  and 
easy  expansion  forward  and  upwards.  The  abdominal 
muscles  should  not  be  used  at  all  in  inspiration.  They  are 
properly  used  in  expiration,  but  the  pupil  should  not, 
habitually,  give  to  the  highest  tones  of  the  voice  an 
increased  support  from  the  abdominal  muscles,  in  order  to 
raise  the  pitch  of  the  voice  by  increased  pressure  of  breath. 


USE  OF  THE  VOCAL  CHORDS.  15 

\ 

If  the  vocal  chords  are  properly  used,  the  upper  tones 
require  for  ordinary  work  les^  support  than  the  lower  ones 
This  will  be  demonstrated  further  on. 

Men  generally  have  a more  pronounced  abdominal 
expansion  than  women.  Persons  of  stout  habit,  or  ol 
compact  make-up,  often  show  the  descent  of  the  diaphragm 
by  an  abdominal  expansion  to  a greater  extent  than  those 
of  thin  or  loose  make-up. 

This  difference  in  external  expansion  seems  to  be  at 
least  partially  owing  to  the  fact  that  in  stout  persons,  or 
those  of  compact  tissue,  the  contents  of  the  abdomen  are 
usually  so  tightly  packed  that  a very  slight  displacement 
of  the  region  immediately  beneath  the  diaphragm  will 
cause  a movement,  en  masse , of  the  entire  contents  of  the 
abdomen,  and,  thus,  an  expansion  of  its  outside  wall.  In 
thin  or  flabby  persons,  in  whose  cases  the  contents  of  the 
abdomen  are  apt  to  be  loosely  packed,  a descent  of  the 
diaphragm  may,  at  its  beginning,  merely  cause  these  con- 
tents to  pack  more  closely  together,  without  pushing  out 
the  abdominal  walls  to  any  marked  extent.  In  this  latter 
3ase  the  lateral  expansion  of  the  ribs  may  be  felt  first,  and 
the  expansion  of  the  abdomen  follow  as  the  result  of 
deeper  inspiration. 

(6.)  USE  OF  THE  VOCAL  CHORDS.  ~ 

After  inspiration,  the  next  thing  is  to  cause  the  air  thus 
inhaled  to  set  the  vocal  chords  into  vibration  and  thus 
begin  a musical  tone.  Since  the  invention  of  the  laryngo- 
scope, the  action  of  the  vocal  chords  has  been  carefully 
and  thoroughly  investigated  by  means  of  this  instrument^ 


16 


USE  OF  THE  VOCAL  CHORDS. 


The  results  thus  gained  have  been  of  great  benefit  to  the 
art  of  singing. 

The  celebrated  Garcia  was  the  first  to  make  systematic 
observations  of  the  vocal  chords  in  action.  The  results 
gained  by  him  were  valuable  but  incomplete.  It  was 
reserved  for  Madame  Emma  Seiler,  by  patient  and  long- 
continued  observations  on  herself  and  others,  to  discover 
the  normal  action  of  the  vocal  chords  in  singing,  (u  The 
Voice  in  Singing,”  by  Emma  Seiler.  Philadelphia,  J.  B, 
Lippincott  & Co  , 1881).  Her  statements  are  substantia- 
ted by  a recent  English  work  (“  Voice,  Song  and  Speech,” 
by  Lennox  Browne  and  Emil  Behnke.  New  York,  G.  P. 
Putmam’s  Sons,  1884),  and  by  others. 

It  is  impossible  to  give  more  than  a brief  summary  of 
the  various  movements  of  the  vocal  chords  in  singing. 
For  a more  extended  discussion  the  reader  is  referred  to 
the  above  mentioned  works. 

In  taking  breath  the  vocal  chords  are  more  or  less  sepa- 
rated. In  producing  tone,  the  lower  or  true  vocal  chords 
come  together,  like  the  blades  of  a pair  of  scissors.  The 
upper  or  false  vocal  chords  never  meet  in  sounding  a tone. 
The  lower  vocal  chords  are  also  called  c<  Vocal  ligaments,” 
“Vocal  bands,”  etc.  We  shall  speak  of  them  as  “the 
vocal  chords.” 

In  singing  scales,  arpeggios,  runs,  etc.,  tL  is  scissors-like 
movement  of  the  vocal  chords  is  repeated  for  each  note. 
It  is  evident  that  a strong  pressure  of  breath  against  the 
vocal  chords  would  interfere  with  this  movement ; hence, 
we  can  see  the  correctness  of  the  rule,  given  by  our  best 


USE  OF  THE  VOCAL  CHORDS. 


17 


teachers,  that  a correct  and  facile  execution  requires  the 
breath  to  be  kept  poised. 

The  proper  manner  of  starting  a tone  is  to  approximate 
the  vocal  chords  and  at  the  same  instant  to  set  them  in 
vibration  by  a light  touch  of  breath-pressure.  This  is 
called  by  Garcia,  the  stroke  of  the  glottis.  (“  Garcia’s 
Vocal  Method,”  p.  11. — Boston,  Ditson  & Co.)  This 
approximation  of  the  vocal  chords  is  not  easily  felt  by  the 
singer,  though  it  can  be  observed  when  one  is  singing 
roulades.  The  easiest  and  most  practical  way  of  acquir- 
ing this  stroke  is  to  make  one’s  self  acquainted  with  the 
most  common  faults  in  starting  the  tone,  and  by  striving 
to  avoid  them,  to  acquire  the  proper  touch  of  the  voice. 

These  faults  are  caused,  firstly,  by  a shutting  of  the  vocal 
chords  before  the  begining  of  the  tone,  thus  damming  up, 
as  it  were,  the  accumulated  breath,  which,  when  it  finally 
bursts  through  the  obstruction,  causes  an  explosive  tone, 
like  the  sound  of  a pop-gun ; and,  secondly,  by  a sluggish 
action  of  the  vocal  chords  which  allow  the  breath  to 
escape  before  they  meet  in  producing  tones,  causing 
thereby  a sound  resembling  the  letter  “ h.” 

The  vocal  chords  are  attached  in  front  to  the  inside 
of  the  projection  in  the  throat,  called  (in  men)  the  Adam’s 
apple.  Each  vocal  chord  at  its  back  is  attached  to  a little 
pyramid  shaped  piece  o.^  gristle.  These  pyramids  are 
called  the  Arytenoid  cartilages,  and  are  fastened  in  their 
turn  to  the  back  of  the  larynx. 

The  vocal  chords  are  elastic  and  susceptible  of  different 
degrees  of  tension.  This  tension  has  a noticeable  effect 
on  a little  opening  that  may  be  felt  in  the  front  of  the 


18 


USE  OF  THE  VOCAL  CHORDS. 


neck,  between  the  cartilages  of  the  larynx.  This  opening 
may  be  found  by  pressing  the  point  of  the  finger  immed- 
iately under  the  Adam’s  apple  in  the  male  larynx,  or  under 
the  corresponding  slight  bunch  of  gristle  in  the  female 
larynx.  There  will  be  found  a little  space  between  the 
Adam’s  apple  and  a ring-shaped  piece  of  gristle  immed- 
iately beneath.  This  opening  gradually  closes  as  the  vocal 
chords  become  stretched  more  and  more  tightly,  and  finally 
disappears  when  the  vocal  chords  are  stretched  to  their 
utmost  extent. 

The  result  of  observations  with  the  laryngoscope,  by 
Madame  Seiler,  and  others,  is  that  we  now  know  that  the 
vocal  chords  act  in  five  different  ways  in  producing  tone. 

First  way . The  vocal  chords  vibrate  through  their 
entire  length  and  breadth,  and  the  arytenoid  cartilages 
(or  pyramids)  act  with  them,  closing  together  at  each  tone 
in  the  scissorsdike  manner  previously  described. 

Second  tv  ay.  The  arytenoid  cartilages  remain  closed 
together  and  cease  to  act.  The  vocal  chords  vibrate  as  in 
the  first  way. 

Third  way.  Only  the  inner  edges  of  the  vocal  chords 
vibrate,  but  the  action  of  the  arytenoid  cartilages,  des- 
cribed in  the  first  way,  is  resumed. 

Fourth  way.  Same  as  the  third  way,  with  the  omission 
of  the  action  of  the  arytenoid  cartilages,  which  remain 
closed,  as  in  the  second  way. 

Fifth  way.  Not  only  are  the  arytenoid  cartilages  closed 
together,  but  the  vocal  chords  themselves  are  closed  firmly 
together  through  half  their  length.  This  closure  extends 
from  the  arytenoid  cartilages  as  far  as  the  middle  of  the 


USE  OF  THE  YOCAL  CHORDS. 


19 


space  between  the  vocal  chords.  The  remaining  space 
between  the  vocal  chords,  forms  an  oval  orifice,  and  the 
fine  edges  of  the  vocal  chords  which  form  this  orifice  are 
alone  vibrating.  (“  Voice  in  Singing,”  passim). 

The  changes  in  action  of  the  vocal  chords  above  des- 
cribed are  not  felt  directly  by  the  singer.  We  should 
waste  our  time  if  we  attempted  to  find  out,  simply  by 
observing  the  sensations  in  the  larynx,  whether,  for  instance, 
we  were  vibrating  the  entire  vocal  chords  or  only  their 
edges.  There  is,  however,  an  indirect  manner  of  ascer- 
taining which  of  the  five  ways  above  referred  to  is  going 
on  when  we  are  producing  a tone.  Each  of  these  ways  is 
accompanied  by  a slightly  different  timbre  in  the  voice 
(which  should  not  be  exaggerated),  and  also  by  a distinct 
and  peculiar  sensation  in  the  body.  It  is  these  sensations 
that  are  our  best  guide,  and,  by  following  them,  we  may 
acquire  the  proper  use  of  the  vocal  chords. 

These  sensations  are  as  follows: — (“Voice  in  Singing,” 
p.  77.  See  also  “ Singing,”  by  Alberto  Randegger,  p.  12. 
Boston,  Oliver  Ditson  & Co.) 

In  the  first  way,  “one  has  the  sensation  as  if  the  whole 
body  took  part  in  this  formation  of  tone,  and  as  if  the 
tones  were  drawn  from  the  lowest  part  of  the  lungs.” 
This  way  of  using  the  vocal  chords  will  be  called  in  this 
work  “ Deep  chest  register.” 

In  the  second  way,  the  sensation  is  as  if  the  tones  came 
from  that  part  of  the  chest  midway  between  the  p:’t  of 
the  stomach  and  the  larynx.  This  we  will  cail  “Mid-chest 
register,” 


20 


USE  OF  THE  YOCAL  CHORDS. 


In  the  third  way,  the  sensation  is  as  if  the  tones  had 
their  origin  in  the  throat.  This  we  will  call  “Neck 
register.’’ 

In  the  fourth  way,  one  feels  as  if  the  throat  had  nothing 
to  do  with  the  tones, — as  if  they  were  formed  above  in 
the  mouth.  This  we  will  call  “ Mouth  register.” 

In  the  fifth  way,  the  tones  seem  to  come  from  the  fore- 
head. This  we  will  call  “ Head  register.” 

The  natural  limits  of  these  registers  when  the  tone  is 
produced  lightly  and  without  effort,  are  as  follows : 

In  the  female  voice  (whether  Contralto  or  Soprano),  the 


lowest  tones  of  the  voice  as  far  up  as  the  note 


i 


Jr 


belong  to  the  deep  chest  register. 


From 


inclusive,  the  tones  belong  to  the  mid-^hest  regis 


fJ 

ter.  The  vocal  chords  for  the  lowest  tones  of  the  deep 
chest  register  are  very  loose,  and  we  may  notice  that  the 
little  opening  under  the  Adam’s  apple  is  well  open.  In  the 
hightest  tone  of  the  mid-chest  register,  the  vocal  chords 
are  very  tightly  stretched,  and  the  said  opening  entirely 
disappears. 

Observations  with  the  laryngoscope  have  shown  that 
if  we  attempt  to  carry  the  mid-chest  register  beyond 


when  singing  lightly,  the  vocal  chords  are 


injured,  by  the  extraordinary  tension  to  which  they  are 


USE  OP  THE  VOCAL  CHORDS. 


21 


subjected,  and  the  voice  deteriorates  in  quality,  and  soon 

decays.  If,  on  the  contrary,  we  change  at 

to  the  neck  register,  the  vocal  chords  become  fairly  loose 
again,  the  aforesaid  opening  again  appears,  and  the  tone 
is  produced  without  strain.  This  neck  register  continues 

inclusive.  The  mouth  register  extends  from 


to 


to  j — inclusive.  The  head  register  be- 


gins at  | 


m 


and  continues  to  the  end  of  the  compass 


of  the  voice. 

In  the  male  voice  (whether  bass,  baritone,  or  tenor),  the 
- or  -^7— !■ — (written  for 


lower  tones  up  to 


tenors  an  octave  higher)  are  properly  sung  in  the  deep 

M ri- 
chest register.  The  mid-chest  register  begins  at 


or  -Sf 


-Qt- 


and  extends  to 


: inclusive.  Here  we 


may  notice  that  the  mid-chest  register  in  all  voices,  male 


and  female,  ends  at  the  same  note 


or 


(It  being  always  understood  that  music  for  the  tenor  voice 
is  written  an  octave  higher  than  it  is  sung.  We  shall 
give  the  limits  of  the  tenor  voice  in  the  notation  of  the 
bass  clef,  as  it  is  actually  sung.) 


22 


tJSF  OF  THE  VOCAL  CHOAbS. 


In  the  male  voice,  as  in  the  female,  there  is  a percept! 
ble  strain  in  the  effort  to  carry  this  register  higher,  when 
producing  a light  tone.  The  bass  voice  rarely  goes  higher 

£ 


than 


but  baritone  and  tenor  voices  should  sing 


all  their  upper  tones,  beginning  with 


m 


U- 


in  the  neck-register,  except  when  making  an  especial  effort. 
This  enables  the  vocal  chords  to  assume  again  an  easy  and 
free  position,  as  is  shown  by  the  re-appearance  of  the  little 
opening  under  the  Adam’s  apple.  Some  light  tenors  can 


carry  this  register  to  its  extreme  limit  £ generally 


written 


at  which  point  the  mouth  register  be- 


gins in  male  voices.  The  mouth  register  is  of  no  value 
in  the  male  voice.  The  most  robust  tenors  can,  with  prac- 
tice, attain,  by  using  the  neck  voice,  a clear  and  ringing 
high  b flat  and  c. 


The  neck  voice  is  not  that  effeminate,  pulpy,  and  use- 
less tone,  commonly  called  u falsetto  ” in  this  country. 
The  u falsetto  ” voice  is  shown  by  the  laryngoscope  to  be 
the  me  uth  register  above  referred  to,  brought  down  to  the 
lowest  tones  of  the  neck  voice.  (“  Voice,  Song,  and 
Speech/’  pp.  177,  178,  238.) 


USE  OP  THE  VOCAL  CHORDS. 


23 


The  natural  result  of  carrying  down  the  mechanism  of 
the  mouth- voice  into  the  lowest  tones  of  the  neck-register  is 
to  cause  such  a relaxed  condition  of  the  vocal  chords  that 
only  a feeble  tone  is  possible. 

The  neck  voice  is  the  mixed  voice  of  the  old  Italian 
School.  It  should  be  carefully  distinguished  from  chest, 
falsetto,  and  head-tones.  The  premature  decay  of  almost 
all  modern  operatic  tenors,  is  due  to  their  neglect  of  this 
beautiful  register,  in  the  use  of  which  Rubini,  and  other 
famous  artists  of  the  past,  excelled. 

One  more  fact  remains  to  be  noticed  concerning  the 
action  of  the  vocal  chords.  This  is,  that  the  vibrating 
medium  is  largest  in  the  deep-chest  register,  and  is  smaller 
and  smaller  for  each  succeeding  register.  For  example, 
in  the  deep-chest  register  the  vocal  chords  and  arytenoid 
cartilages  are  vibrating  through  their  entire  length  and 
breadth,  while,  in  the  head-register,  only  the  edges  of 
about  half  the  length  of  the  vocal  chords  are  vibrating. 
It  may  easily  be  seen,  from  this,  that  each  register  requires, 
for  the  production  of  tone,  less  breath-pressure  than  the 
preceding  one. 

This  is  particularly  noticeable  in  the  transition  from 
mid-chest  to  neck  in  all  voices,  and  from  mouth  to  head 
in  female  voices.  The  pernicious  habit  of  habitually  giv- 
ing the  upper  tones  (particularly  in  tenor  and  soprano 
voices)  an  additional  support  from  the  muscles  governing 
respiration,  interferes  with  the  proper  use  of  the  vocal 
chords,  causes  the  voice  to  be  shrill  and  to  decay  prema- 
turely, creates  a tremolo,  and  is  apt  to  injure  the  health  of 
even  the  toughest  pupil. 


24 


POWER  AND  RESONANCE. 


(c.)  POWER  AND  RESONANCE. 

The  strength  of  a vocal  tone  depends  partially  on  the 
amplitude  of  the  vibrations  of  the  vocal  chords.  A light 
pressure  of  breath  will  cause  the  vibrations  of  the  vocal 
chords  to  extend  through  only  a small  space.  A strong 
pressure  will  cause  these  vibrations  to  be  more  extensive, 
with  a stronger  tone  as  the  result.  This  is  an  example  of 
a general  law  of  physics,  which  need  not  be  explained 
here. 

It  is  sufficient  for  our  purpose  to  know  that  increased 
breath-pressure  by  causing  each  vibration  of  the  vocal 
chords  to  traverse  a larger  amount  of  space,  increases  the 
strength  of  the  tone.  If  this  increase  in  strength  were 
the  only  effect  of  breath-pressure,  our  task  would  be  easier 
than  it  is.  In  that  case,  we  should  simply  have  to  follow 
the  example  of  the  pianist  who  gets  his  full  tone  by  a 
strong  stroke  upon  the  key. 

Our  process  is  complicated  by  the  following  fact : Ex- 
periments u|)on  larynxes  which  have  been  cut  out  of  the 
human  body,  and  whose  vocal  chords  have  been  subjected 
to  the  pressure  of  a column  of  air,  show  that  increased 
pressure  of  breath  has  a tendency  to  raise  the  pitch  of  the 
tone,  without  any  increase  in  the  tension  of  the  vocal 
chords. 

From  this  it  follows  that  under  increased  breath-pres- 
sure, the  limits  of  the  registers  previously  given  (pp.  20-22) 
may  be  extended  upwards  without  increasing  the  tension 
of  the  vocal  chords.  How  far  this  can  be  done  without 
injury  to  the  voice,  is  still  an  unsettled  question.  The 
singer  should  always  remember  that  the  upward  limits  of 


POWER  AND  RESONANCE. 


25 


U(JfV  1 U:/;j 

the  registers,  as  already  given,  must  never  be  overstepped 
in  light  singing,  nor  when  using  moderate  power.  In 
fact,  these  limits  should  be  pretty  closely  adhered  to  in 
all  ordinary  work. 

But,  just  as  an  actor  may  make  a special  effort  for  a 
particular  point  in  his  role,  so  a vocal  artist  may,  for  a 
climax,  or  a declamatory  passage,  or  some  other  special 
occasion,  go  beyond  the  ordinary  upward  limits  of  the 
vocal  registers;  always  remembering  that  such  effort  should 
be  preceded  by  a full,  but  not  extraordinary  inspiration, 
should  only  be  made  when  he  or  she  is  in  good  condition, 
and  should  be  followed  by  the  moderate  and  normal  use 
of  the  registers,  to  give  the  voice  its  proper  rest.  The 
fault  of  many  modern  singers  is  that  they  make  this 
special  effort  the  basis  of  their  singing  method,  and  are 
unable  to  make  a tone  in  the  normal  and  easy  manner. 

It  goes  without  saying,  that  in  delicate  singing  the 
registers  may,  and  should  be  brought  down  below  the 
limits  previously  given. 

The  power  of  a vocal  tone  is  also  increased,  or  rein- 
forced, by  a proper  use  of  the  resonance  apparatus.  This 
consists  mainly  of  (1)  that  part  of  the  larynx  that  is  above 
the  vocal  chords,  (2)  the  pharynx  and  the  cavities  that 
communicate  with  it,  and  (3)  the  mouth. 

The  action  of  the  resonance  apparatus  in  reinforcing  the 
voice  is  not  yet  fully  understood.  We  know,  however, 
from  experience,  and  it  is  generally  agreed  among  teachers, 
Jiat  the  tone  is  the  most  resonant  when  the  throat  is  free 
ind  the  column  of  tone  is  felt  in  the  forward  part  of  the 
nouth,  against  the  roots  of  the  upper  front  teeth. 


26 

o 0 


TIMBRE. 


(d.)  TIMBRE. 

This  subject  is  a very  interesting  one  and  will  repay 
careful  and  thorough  investigation  by  the  student.  For 
our  present  purpose,  it  is  sufficient  to  state  that  each  tone 
in  the  voice  is  not,  in  reality,  a single  tone  but  is  made 
up  of  many  single  tones.  The  extreme  high  notes  of  the 
piano  are  simple  (or  single)  tones,  but  its  middle  and  lower 
tones,  like  the  notes  in  the  human  voice,  are  what  are 
called  compound  tones;  i.  e.,  each  tone  consists  of  a series 
of  tones,  called  partial  tones,  and  including  : — 

(1.)  The  prime  tone  at  the  bottom  which  determines 
the  pitch,  (2.)  a partial  tone  an  octave  above  the  prime, 
(3.)  a partial  tone  one-twelfth  above  the  prime,  and  many 
other  partial  tones  still  higher.  Some  notes  have  even 
twenty  partial  tones. 

The  most  extreme  upper  partial  tones  do  not  harmonise 
with  the  fundamental  or  prime  tone,  and,  when  they  are 
prominent  in  the  voice,  its  quality  is  piercing  and  rough. 
It  is  known  that  extreme  pressure  of  breath  on  the  vocal 
chords  causes  these  extreme  upper  inharmonic  partials  to 
become  unduly  prominent.  Hence,  we  again  see  the 
necessity  of  keeping  the  breath  back,  when  singing. 

Among  singers,  the  timbres  of  the  voice  are  generally 
divided  into  dark  or  sombre  on  the  one  hand,  and  bright 
or  clear  on  the  other.  The  difference  is  accounted  for  as 
a difference  in  the  proportions  of  the  various  partial 
tones.  Some  teachers  make  a pupil  frown  in  singing  a 
dark  tone,  and  smile  in  singing  a bright  one.  It  is  even 
asserted,  and  the  assertion  seems  very  plausible,  that  every 


ARTICULATION. 


27 


expression  of  the  face  has  an  effect  on  the  color  of  the 
voice. 

If  this  is  so,  the  easiest  way  for  a singer  to  get  the 
appropriate  timbre  for  any  particular  phrase,  is  to  assume 
the  facial  expression  which  corresponds  to  the  sentiment 
of  the  phrase. 

(e.)  ARTICULATION. 

This  subject  has  been  very  much  investigated.  There 
are  some  treatises  on  it  that  display  a wealth  of  learning 
and  research  positively  appaling.  The  student  need  not 
be  alarmed  at  this,  as  he  is  only  concerned  with  the  prac- 
tical result.  His  object  is  two-fold : his  pronunciation 
must  be  correct,  even  elegantly  so,  and  he  must  make  him- 
self understood.  This  is  rarely  done,  however,  partly 
because  English  is  a difficult  language  to  sing  distinctly, 
as  many  of  its  so  called  vowel  sounds  are  dipthongs 
(or  nearly  so),  also  because  it  is  difficult  to  pronounce 
accurately  in  some  parts  of  the  singing  voice ; but  mainly 
because  singers  will  not  practice  pronunciation  as  carefuUy 
as  they  do  the  other  departments  of  their  art. 

The  main  agent  in  pronunciation  is  the  tongue.  Every 
vowel  sound  and  every  consonant  requires  a certain  position 
of  the  tongue.  These  positions  are  given  in  the  following 
tables.  A convincing  and  practical  discussion  of  the  sub- 
ject of  articulation  will  be  found  embodied  in  a work 
entitled  “ Sounds  and  their  relations”  by  Alex.  Melville 
Bell,  F.  E.  I.  S.  etc.  Philadelphia,  Cowperthwait  & Co. ; 
Salem,  Mass.,  J.  P.  Burbank,  1881.  This  book  is  an 
invaluable  contribution  to  the  subject  of  articulation,  and 
ought  to  be  at  least  read  by  every  student  of  singing. 
Diagrams  illustrating  the  positions  of  the  tongue  in  arti- 
culation are  contained  in  the  “ Visible  Speech  Primer” 
by  the  same  author. 


28 


TABLE  O*  CONSONANTS. 


Explanation. — “ Vpice’  ’ means  a vocal  sound  in  the  larynx 
accompanying  the  enunciation  of  the  given  consonant.  In  nasal 
consonants  the  tone  passes  through  the  nose. 


LIP  CONSONANTS. 

wh  (in  what.)  Breath  compressed  between  the  lips, 
drawn  back  from  the  teeth. 

w (in  way.)  Same  as  wh.  Voice. 
f (in  fate.)  Lower  lip  on  upper  front  teeth. 
v (in  vase.)  Same  as  f.  Voice. 
p (in  pool.)  Lips  shut  together. 
b (in  ball.  Same  as  p.  Voice, 
m (in  man.)  Same  as  p.  Nasal.  Voice. 


Tongue 


BACK  CONSONANTS. 

k (in  key.)  Back  of  tongue  against  soft  palate,  not  against 
uvula. 

g (in  go.)  Same  as  k.  Voice. 
ng  (in  nothing.)  Same  as  k.  Nasal.  Voice. 


TOP  CONSONANTS. 

h (in  hue.)  Breath  compressed  between  arched  top  of  tongue 
and  palate.  ( h in  most  words  is  simply  an  aspirate.) 
y (in  yet.)  Same  as  h in  “hue.”  Voice. 
sh  (in  shoot.)  Like  h in  “hue,”  except  that  the  fore  part  of 
the  tongue  rises  a little,  so  as  to  direct  the  breath  forwards 


POINT  CONSONANTS. 


r (in  ride. ) Point  of  the  tongue  toward  the  rim  of  palatal  arch. 
Voice,  (r  is  rolled  by  flutter  of  point.) 

s (in  soft.)  The  front  of  the  tongue  behind  the  point  be- 
comes slightly  convex,  throwing  the  breath  directly  forward  be- 
tween the  broadened  point  and  the  upper  gum. 
z (in  zeal.)  Same  as  s.  Voice. 

Z (in  lamp.)  The  point  of  the  tongue  against  the  rim  of  tlio 
palatal  arch.  Voice. 

th  (in  thin.)  Edges  of  tongue  all  around  at  teeth,  leaving 
interstitial  apertures  for  the  breath  over  the  sides  of  tip. 
th  (in  then.)  Same  as  th  in  thin.  Voice. 
t (in  tone.)  Point  and  edges  of  the  tongue  applied  to  the 
rim  of  the  palatal  arch  so  as  to  stop  the  breath. 
d (in  done.)  Same  as  t.  Voice. 
n (in  no.)  Same  as  t.  Nasal.  Voice. 


Combinations 


•i 


ch  (in  cheese) — t sh 
j (in  John.)  — d zh 


Hx, — ks  or  gs. 
qu — kw.. 


) 


TABLE  OF  VOWELS. 


29 


Explanation. — “ Front,”  “back,”  and  “oentre”  refer  to 
parts  of  the  tongue.  “ High,”  “low,”  and  “mid”  are  the  posi- 
tions of  the  part  of  the  tongue  used.  “Wide  ” means  a relaxed 
and  rather  wide  position  for  the  tongue.  In  vowels  not  marked 
“wide”  the  tongue  is  somewhat  narrowed.  “Round”  means 
that  the  lips  are  rounded.  This  rounding  is  very  marked  in  “56,” 
moderately  so  in  “6,”  and  slightly  so  in  “aw.”  In  this  table 
only  the  main  position  of  the  vowel  sound  is  given.  The  vanish- 
ishing  sound  which  makes  the  finish  in  many  vowels  can  be 
supplied  by  the  student. 

FRONT  VOWELS. 

7 e {meet) high-front. 

I (in) high-front — wide. 

a (fate.) mid-front  (and  high  centre.) 

e (met.) low-front  (and  high  near  back.) 

a (hat.) .low-front — wide  (and  high  near  back.) 

BACK  VOWELS. 

u (ap.) mid-back,  (tip  at  roots  of  lower  teeth.) 

a (pass,  path..)  ....  .mid-back, — wide  (tip  at  roots  of  lower 
teeth.) 

a (ah,  father,  arm. ). . . low-back, — wide  (low  centre,  and  front.  \ 
CENTRE  VOWELS. 

a (when  unaccented;  ex.,  “a  dog.”)  mid-centre — wide  (near- 
ly natural.) 

e (her.)  ) low-centre. 

l (sir)  ) 

e (the  man.) high-centre — wide. 

ROUND  VOWELS.] 

~l*od  (pool.) high-back — round  (low  front.) 

oo  (foot,  good.)  high-back — wide — round,  (low  front.) 

— o (hole.) mid-back — round,  (tip  at  roots  of  lower 

teeth. ) 

6 (door  and  before,  “r,”  &c.)  mid-back — wide — round,  (tip 
at  roots  of  lower  teeth.) 

* — 7 aw  low-back— round,  (low  centre  and  front.) 

o (on,  off,  etc.)  . . . .low-back — wide — round,  (low  centre  and 
front.) 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  unaccented  article  “a”  gives  the 
most  natural  position  of  the  tongue,  and  hence  is  the  best  vowel 
sound  for  the  pupil  to  use  in  singing  vocalizations. 

* When  in  singing,  it  is  desirable  to  sing  a full,  resonant  tone  on  the  sylla- 
ble oo,  the  tongue  may  drop  to  the  position  of  “ aw,”  the  lips  remaining  in  the 
oo  position.  This  will  give  an  increase  in  volume  without  much  change  in  the 
distinctness  of  the  vowel  sound. 


50 


CONCLUSION. 


Most  singers  will  find  that,  in  the  main,  tney  already, 
unconsciously,  form  most  of  the  vowels  and  consonants 
as  above  directed.  But  each  one  will  also,  probably,  find 
some  vowels  or  consonants  which  he  habitually  makes  in 
a faulty  manner,  and  thus  injures  either  the  distinctness 
and  correctness  of  his  enunciation  or  the  quality  of  his 
Moreover,  by  using  these  tables  for  the  purpose  of 
daily  practice,  the  singer  will  be  enabled  to  exercise  the 
muscles  governing  pronunciation  and  will  thus  acquire  the 
ability  to  articulate  emphatically  and  distinctly  where  he 
now  pronounces  lazily  and  inaccurately.  There  is  no 
people  that  pronounces  its  own  language  so  clumsily  and 
stupidly  as  the  English  speaking  race.  Mr  Bell’s  system 
renders  a distinct  and  even  elegant  enunciation  possible 
to  all.  Nevertheless,  the  majority  will  probably  continue 
to  swallow  its  words  and  talk  through  its  nose  after  the 
manner  of  its  fathers. 

5.  CONCLUSION. 

The  preceeding  account  of  the  results  of  some  modern 
investigations  into  vocal  problems  is  necessarily  short,  and 
therefore  incomplete  and  hasty.  Enough  has  been  pre- 
sented to  the  reader  to  enable  him  to  understand  the  main 
principles  of  some  of  the  best  modern  methods.  It  is 
important  that  we  should  notice  how  the  science  of  the 
present  day  confirms  the  empiricism  or  the  old  Italian 
school.  For  instance:  it  confirms  the  instructions  of  the 
old  “maestro”  regarding  the  existance  of  the  chest,  head 
and  mixed  voices,  the  necessity  of  economizing  the  breath, 
the  use  of  the  chest  voice  when  singing  a full  tone  on  a note 


CONCLUSION. 


?l 

whose  pitch  would  require  the  mixed  voice  for  a soft 
effect,  and  so  forth.  Indeed  it  may  be  said  that  science 
has,  so  far,  only  told  us  definitely  and  accurately  that 
which  we  already  knew  inaccurately  and  in  the  rough. 

If  modern  methods  are,  in  reality,  so  much  like  the  old 
school,  why  is  it  that  we  have  not  produced  singers  to 
compare  with  the  old  ones?  Why  is  it  that  Patti,  the 
last  surviving  example  of  the  great  era  of  singing,  is  the 
only  modern  artist  who  has  a substantially  perfect  and 
complete  vocal  technique  ? 

The  answer  is,  that  the  old  school  used  its  method  as  a 
means  of  directing  properly  the  daily  practice  of  the 
pupil,  the  modern  school  uses  its  method  as  a fetish  which 
is  expected  to  charm  away  all  vocal  evils.  The  method 
of  the  old  school  was  a small  part  of  its  process  of  instruc- 
tion ; the  modern  school  has  nothing  but  method  to  give 
to  the  pupil,  who  is  taught  that  method  renders  unneces- 
sary years  of  study,  and  regular  daily,  stupid,  monotonous 
practice. 

The  teacher  of  the  future  will  not  consider  his  method 
the  only  important  thing.  He  will  follow  the  old  process. 
He  will  attempt  little  the  first  or  the  second  year,  and  will 
go  gradually,  carefully,  regularly  and,  above  all,  slowly  to 
the  end.  Method  when  rightly  used  is  not  a “ short-cut  ” 
by  which  natural  laws  may  be  evaded.  Nature  is  a hard 
task-mistress.  What  you  steal  from  her  to-day,  she  will 
exact  with  compound  interest  to-morrow.  The  end  of 
these  “short-cuts’’  is,  that  every  quick  result  which  the  pupil 
gains  is  attended  either  with  some  physical  weakness  or 
disease,  or  else  with  an  accompanying  fault ; such  as  a 


82 


CONCLUSION. 


tremolo,  a tendency  to  sing  “ off  the  key,7’  a nasal,  sharp, 
foggy,  hard  or  weak  tone,  a lack  of  flexibility,  a prema- 
ture decay  of  the  voice,  or  some  other  disagreeable  thing, 
which,  like  Ban  quo’s  ghost,  is  apt  to  pop  up  at  the  very 
moment  you  wish  to  display  yourself  on  some  festal 
occasion. 

A correct  method  is  a necessity,  but  it  can  only  supple- 
ment good  natural  gifts  and  long  continued  practice.  The 
fault  of  modern  instruction  is  not  in  its  method,  but  in  the 
way  in  which  it  misuses  it.  The  course  of  instruction  of 
the  future  will  be  a combination  of  the  intellectuality  of 
the  present,  with  the  thorough  and  patient  training  of  the 
past.  Then  we  may  hope  to  see  a generation  of  singers 
whose  names  will  mark  an  era  in  their  art  as  famous  as 
those  signalized  by  a Farinelli  or  a Rubini,  a Catalani  or 
a Malibran. 


33 


APPENDIX. 

Since  the  first  appearance  of  this  pamphlet,  three  years 
ago,  several  important  works  on  vocal  problems  have 
been  published,  and  I feel  that  it  is  due  to  the  readers 
of  this  second  edition  to  refer  briefly  to  these  latest 
“Modern  Methods.”  Further  experience  with  pupils 
has  moreover  convinced  me  that  the  practical  value  of 
this  work  will  be  increased  by  a more  detailed  presenta- 
tion of  some  of  the  subjects  contained  therein. 

THE  OLD  ITALIAN  SCHOOL. 

The  best  original  authorities  are  u Opinioni  dd  Cantori 
Antichi  e Moderni  o sieno  Osservazioni  sopra  il  canto 
figurato ,”  by  Pietro  Francesco  Tosi  ; English  transla- 
tion by  Galliard,  in  1742;  — and  Pensieri  e riflessioni 
pratiche  sopra  il  canto  figurato ,”  by  Giovanni  Battista 
Mancini,  [1st  Ed.  Vienna,  1774,  2d  (called  3d)  Ed.  Milan, 
1777.]  There  is  a copy  of  Mancini,  and  also  one  of 
Galliard’s  translation  of  Tosi,  in  the  Public  Library 
of  Boston. 

If  Tosi  had  an  elaborate  method  he  took  care  not  to 
publish  it.  He  advises  gaining  the  high  notes  by  degrees 
and  singing  them  at  first  softly.  He  says  the  voice 
should  come  forth  neat  and  clear,  neither  nasal  nor 
throaty.  He  speaks  of  head  and  chest  registers,  and 


34 


THE  OLD  ITALIAN  SCHOOL. 


says  the  Italian  vowels  ( i)  and  ( e ) are  the  best  for  the 
head  voice.  He  objects  to  tricks  and  grimaces  of  head, 
body  or  mouth,  and  to  the  tremolo.  He  advises  using 
the  umessa  di  voce ” sparingly,  and  on  the  open  vowels, 
and  managing  the  breath  so  as  to  always  have  more 
than  is  necessary, 

Mancini  divides  all  voices  into  two  registers,  viz : — 
the  natural  or  chest  voice,  and  the  artificial  (“ falsetto”) 
or  head  voice.  The  term  falsetto  is  probably  used  in  a 
sense  very  different  from  that  in  use  in  this  country. 
Mancini  seems  to  mean  that  the  upper  tones  cannot 
usually  be  produced  in  the  speaking  voice,  but  require 
some  artifice  to  lessen  the  effort  of  singing  the  higher 
notes.  [Bassini,  who  was  a pupil  of  Crescentini,  (“the 
last  great  singer  that  Italy  produced,”  Fctis ’ Biographie 
Universelle , etc.,)  and  also  of  Zingarelli,  says  that  the 
theoretical  signification  of  the  word  “ falsetto  ” is  not 
that  voice  which  imitates  the  woman’s  voice,  but  “ all  are 
falsetto  tones  which  are  not  produced  from  the  chestP 
He  includes  both  head  and  medium  registers  under  the 
term  falsetto. — Bassini,  Art  of  Singing ; Boston:  Dit- 
son  & Co.]  Mancini  also  advocates  supporting  the  tone 
from  the  chest,  so  as  to  leave  the  throat  free.  He  insists 
that  the  breath  should  be  kept  back  and  economized, 
that  the  two  registers  should  be  united  and  equalized ; 
and  that  the  mouth  should  be  easily  opened  with  a 
natural  smile.  He  condemns  singing  with  closed  mouth 
or  rounded  lips.  I cannot  find  any  authority  for  abdomi- 
nal respiration  in  his  pages.  He  recommends,  above  all 
things,  long  study  and  patience,  and  refers  to  the  fact 


RESPIRATION. 


35 


that  in  his  time  there  were  different  methods  even  among 
the  pupils  of  the  same  teacher. 

An  interesting  historical  sketch  of  Mancini’s  School  is 
contained  in  “ The  Old  Italian  School  of  Singing ,” 
by  Leo  Kofler.  ( Albany,  N.  Y.,  Edgar  S.  Wer- 
ner, 1883.) 

RESPIRATION. 

In  cases  where  the  ribs  are  flexible,  and  have  large 
expansive  power,  their  movement  outward  and  upward 
necessarily  enlarges  the  circumference  of  the  diaphragm 
and  raises  its  rim  upward  to  a marked  extent.  In  such 
cases  the  centre  of  the  diaphragm  may  sink  relatively  to 
the  ribs  and  lungs  and  yet  exert  little  or  no  pressure  on 
the  abdominal  contents.  It  even  seems  possible  that 
when  the  chest  is  large  in  proportion  to  the  abdomen, 
the  full  expansion  of  chest,  and  the  contraction  and 
descent  of  the  diaphragm,  may  be  accompanied  by  a 
slight  flattening  of  the  abdomen,  which,  however,  should 
not  be  drawn  in  by  muscular  effort  during  inspiration. 

“ Voice , Song  and  Speech?  (already  cited)  advocates 
extreme  abdominal  inspiration.  “ The  Physiology  of 
Artistic  Singing?  by  John  Howard,  (Boston,  1886, 
published  by  the  Author),  contains  a very  elaborate  and 
ingenious  presentation  of  the  arguments  in  favor  of  the 
extreme  clavicular  mode.  “ The  Diaphragm, ? by  J.  M. 
W.  Kitchen,  (Albany,  Edgar  S.  Werner,  1885),  express- 
es a view  that  seems  to  me  worthy  the  careful  considera- 
tion of  all  singers,  in  the  following  words:  UA  har- 


36 


USE  OP  THE  VOCAL  CHORDS 


monious  use  of  all  the  parts  of  the  respiratory  apparatus 
is  the  normal  respiratory  procedure,”  (p.  45.) 

The  pupil  should  accustom  himself  to  take  breath 
without  altering  the  easy  and  free  position  of  the  throat 
and  without  lowering  the  larynx.  It  is  also  to  be  noticed 
that  the  ribs  have  properly  an  expansion  backward  as 
well  as  sideways,  forward  and  upward. 

USE  OF  THE  VOCAL  CHORDS. 

Many  laryngoscopists  have  not  been  able  to  agree 
with  the  results  obtained  by  the  authors  already  referred 
to  in  this  work.  I have  always  been  able  to  notice  in 
uncultivated  voices  changes  of  timbre  sufficiently  marked 
to  indicate  changes  of  register  at  the  points  referred  to 
by  Mad.  Seiler.  I am  satisfied  that  uncultivated  voices, 
when  singing  lightly,  would  be  subject  to  strain  if  they 
should  overstep  the  limits  laid  down  by  her.  I find  it 
best  to  begin  with  her  registration  as  a starting  point, 
but  beyond  that  there  does  not  seem  to  be  any  rule  that 
will  do  for  all  voices.  [See  pages  37  and  38  of  this 
Appendix.] 

It  is  also  my  experience  in  teaching,  that  while  there 
is  almost  always  a more  or  less  marked  sensation  of 
relief  in  passing  from  the  mid-chest  to  the  neck  register, 
still  I have  not  been  able  to  notice  that  the  vocal  chords 
became  sufficiently  relaxed  to  allow  a reappearance  of 
the  little  opening  under  the  Adam's  apple,  reterred  to  on 
pages  18,  20,  21  and  22  of  this  work.  In  view  of  the 
unsettled  condition  of  laryngoscopic  investigation,  it  has 


POWER  AND  RESONANCE. 


37 


seemed  best  not  to  remove  from  this  edition  the  state- 
ments regarding  this  opening,  but  merely  to  add  here 
the  results  of  my  own  experience. 

One  of  the  latest  works  on  the  voice  [ “ Hygiene  of 
the  Vocal  Organs”  by  Morell  Mackenzie.  London, 
Macmillan  & Co.,  1886,]  contains  in  a brief  space  (pages 
49-91 ) the  most  comprehensive  account  of  investigations 
with  the  laryngoscope  that  I know  of.  Dr.  Mackenzie 
also  gives  in  an  appendix  a table  showing  the  action  of 
the  vocal  chords  as  observed  by  him  in  the  cases  of  fifty 
different  singers,  including  Nilsson,  Albani,  Valleria, 
Patey,  Griswold,  Maas,  Foli,  and  others. 


POWER  AND  RESONANCE. 


The  following  practical  rules  for  the  extension  of 
registers  ( see  page  25  of  this  work ) will  be  of  service 
to  students. 

Sopranos,  as  a rule,  should  not  carry  the  chest  voice 
upwards,  in  fact  many  may  find  it  advisable  to  sing  even 
their  lower  notes  in  the  neck  voice.  Many  fine  artists 
carry  the  neck  and  mouth  tones  upward  when  singing 
the  full  voice. 

Contraltos  should  beware  of  forcing  the  open  deep 


chest  voice  above 


even  when  singing 


the  full  voice,  for  by  so  doing,  the  middle  tones,  which 
ought  to  be  round  and  full,  are  weakened,  and  the  so- 
called  “ break 55  in  the  voice  becomes  disagreeably  pro- 
nounced. Such  singing  may  please  the  crowd,  but  it  is 


38 


POWER  AND  RESONANCE. 


nevertheless  inartistic  and  unmusical.  Contraltos  must 
also  be  more  cautious  than  Sopranos  in  extending  the 
neck  and  mouth  tones  upward. 


Tenors  will  find  the  neck  voice  useful,  even  as  low 


written 


is 


and  there 


is  really  no  necessity,  except  on  extraordinary  occasions, 


for  carrying  the  mid-chest  register  above 


Many  tenors  can  carry  the  open  deep  chest  voice  to 


while  others  find  the  mid-chest  voice  suf- 


ciently  effective,  and  less  exhausting,  on  the  notes 


$3E 


=^=i5?= 


Baritones  can  use  the  neck  voice  on 


m 


and  will  find  this  register  less  fatiguing  than  the  mid- 
chest voice.  Some  baritones,  however,  seem  to  have 
sufficient  strength  to  carry  the  mid-chest  voice  even  to 


Most  baritones  and  basses  can  carry  the  open 


deep  chest  voice  to 


and  some  voices  can 


POWER  AND  RESONANCE. 


39 


carry  it  to 


I have  heard  artists  try  to 


open  an  E natural  and  F,  but  do  not  think  it  pays. 

A very  important  point  in  the  study  of  registers  is  to 
make  the  voice  even,  so  that  there  is  no  sudden  change 
of  timbre  in  passing  from  bottom  to  top.  This  is  best 
done  by  blending  the  registers  as  follows:  — In  the  deep 
chest  voice  the  tone  should  fill  the  mouth,  neck  and  chest 
with  an  inclination  toward  the  head.  The  mid-chest 
voice  is  similar,  except  that  the  sensation  stops  at  the 
middle  of  the  chest.  The  neck  voice  includes  also  the 
mouth  and  head  sensations,  but  of  course  has  no  chest 
vibration.  The  mouth  voice  is  also  felt  in  the  head. 
In  all  registers  the  tone  should  be  felt  at  the  front  teeth 
and  lips. 

The  extension  of  the  registers  requires  skill,  care,  and 
good  judgment  on  the  part  of  both  teacher  and  pupil, 
and  no  rule  will  fit  all  cases. 

In  regard  to  the  use  of  the  “ resonance  apparatus” 
( see  page  25  ) I will  add  that  it  is  the  opinion  of  many 
fine  artists  and  teachers  that  the  tone  is  improved  when 
there  is  a sensation  of  vibration  in  the  head.  This  has 
just  been  shown  to  be  useful  in  all  registers,  though  it  is 
more  and  more  noticeable  as  the  voice  goes  up  the  scale. 
My  experience  tends  to  show  that  the  head  vibration, 
when  united  with  the  proper  sensations  for  each  register 
and  with  the  forward  sensation  in  the  mouth,  adds  round- 
ness to  the  voice  and  assists  one  in  keeping  on  pitch.  If, 
however,  the  tone  is  allowed  to  slip  away  from  its  front 


40 


TIMBRE. 


position  in  the  mouth,  so  that  it  remains  in  the  head 
alone,  the  result  is  a hollow,  dull  tone,  which  may  sound 
enormous  in  a small  place,  but  lacks  carrying  power. 

The  larynx  moves  freely  in  ordinary  conversation,  but 
different  timbres,  vowels  and  pitches  in  singing  require 
suoh  opposing  positions  of  the  larynx,  that  a stationary 
and  central  position,  neither  raised  nor  lowered,  is  the 
one  that  will  best  enable  a pupil  to  sing  all  vowels  and 
timbres  on  all  pitches.  It  is  claimed  ( “ Physiology  of 
Artistic  Singing ,”  already  cited)  that  a fixed  and  central 
position  of  the  larynx  brings  it  into  contact  with  the 
spine  and  improves  the  tone.  The  stationary  position  is 
the  one  favored  by  the  best  singers  and  teachers  of  my 
acquaintance. 

It  is  a mistake  to  open  the  mouth  to  its  utmost,  as 
this  tightens  the  pharynx  {Garcia! s Method , already 
cited,  page  10).  The  chin  should  neither  be  protruded 
nor  drawn  in. 

TIMBRE. 

Most  teachers  make  more  or  less  use  of  two  opposite 
timbres,  which  are  called  open  and  closed.  Many  speak 
of  the  sombre  or  closed  timbre  as  opposed  to  the  open 
or  clear  timbre.  Here,  as  in  other  departments  of  vocal 
art,  confusion  reigns,  and  it  hardly  seems  possible  that 
different  teachers  can  mean  the  same  thing  when  using 
the  same  word.  To  prevent  misunderstanding,  the  above 
mentioned  terms  will  here  be  used  in  the  following 
senses : 

An  open  tone  is  one  that  seems  to  come  from  an 


TIMBRE. 


41 


open  throat.  A closed  tone  is  the  opposite  of  the  open 
tone,  and  seems  to  come  through  a smaller  aperture, 
although  in  good  singing  it  does  not  feel  stifled  or 
squeezed.  The  sombre  and  bright  timbres  are,  so  to 
speak,  the  opposing  colors  of  the  voice.  The  bright 
timbre  usually  accompanies  those  healthy,  pleasant  and 
joyous  emotions  which  are  beneficial  to  the  constitution, 
though  it  is  sometimes  used  to  express  hatred,  etc. 
The  sombre  timbre  is  richer  and  more  deeply  emotional, 
and  is  most  used  in  the  expression  of  passionate  love, 
despair,  grandeur,  and  other  feelings  that  are  profound 
in  their  character  and  accompanied  with  a considerable 
expenditure  of  vital  resources.  These  timbres  shade  into 
one  another,  and  many  tones  are  of  medium  coloring. 

Following  this  classification  it  may  be  said  that  an 
open  tone  may  be  either  sombre  or  bright  in  coloring, 
and  the  same  is  true  of  the  closed  tone. 

It  is  difficult  to  lay  down  definite  rules  as  to  just  when 
to  use  each  one  of  the  above  timbres  and  how  strong  to 
make  the  coloring.  Much  depends  on  the  good  sense 
and  refined  taste  of  teacher  and  pupil.  It  is  pretty 
generally  agreed  that  the  lower  part  of  all  voices  is  open. 
Methods  differ  as  to  the  upper  part  of  the  voice.  My 
own  experience  is  that  the  closed  timbre  is  the  more 
beneficial  for  the  upper  tones  in  most  cases,  though  some 
exceptional  voices  seem  able  to  sing  open  tones  to  the 
top  of  their  range. 

Mr.  John  Howard,  in  his  work  already  quoted,  claims 
that  the  chain  of  muscles,  beginning  with  the  soft  palate 
and  extending  down  the  throat  to  the  tongue  bone  and 


42 


STYLE. 


larynx,  and  from  the  larynx  to  the  breast  bone  is  of 
great  assistance  in  closing  the  opening  between  the  cartila- 
ges of  the  larynx  (see  page  18  of  this  work),  and  thereby 
stretching  the  vocal  chords.  The  more  these  muscles 
are  exerted  the  smaller  will  be  the  opening  into  the 
throat. 

The  full  voice  is  the  more  open,  the  soft  voice  the 
more  closed  on  any  given  note,  but  the  extent  of  the 
opening  or  closing  depends  on  the  individual  voice  and 
on  the  pitch  of  the  note.  As  a rule,  low  soft  tones  are 
not  much  closed,  and  very  high  full  tones  but  little 
opened.  Here  again  the  teacher  and  pupil  need  good 
judgment,  for  what  will  help  one  voice  may  hurt 
another. 

The  clear  timbre  is  the  least  wearing  on  the  voice. 
It  should  be  used  in  elementary  exercises,  and  should  be 
made  the  basis  of  the  voice.  Let  the  pupil  learn  to  sing 
a sweet,  pure,  bright  and  healthy  tone  through  the  entire 
voice,  and  reserve  the  sombre  timbre  for  appropriate 
vocalizes  and  songs.  The  sombre  timbre  should  never 
be  sung  in  cold  blood.  It  should  not  be  attempted  until 
the  pupil  is  so  far  advanced  in  the  mechanical  side  of  the 
art  as  to  be  able  to  assume  the  full  spirit  of  the  song 
without  risk  of  strain. 

Most  modern  operatic  artists  use  the  dark,  emotional 
timbre  to  excess.  [See  the  following  remarks  on  style.] 

STYLE. 

As  no  two  artists  have  exactly  the  same  style,  it  may 
seem  at  first  sight  impossible  to  characterize  any  particu- 


STYLE. 


43 


lar  style  as  belonging  to  modern  methods.  There  is, 
however,  one  marked  distinction  between  the  style  of 
the  older  schools  and  that  of  the  present  day.  The  old 
school  singer  had  two  objects  in  view.  He  displayed  his 
technical  skill  as  a performer  on  his  own  vocal  instru- 
ment, as  well  as  his  ability  as  an  interpreter  of  the 
aesthetic  side  of  the  vocal  composition.  To-day  we  still 
have  pianists  who  are  allowed  to  show  their  technique 
as  well  as  their  expressive  power.  To-day  the  violinist, 
is  applauded  for  his  wonderful  skill  as  well  as  for  his 
emotional  and  intellectual  insight,  but  the  poor  singer 
has  degenerated  until  the  music  of  even  fifty  years  ago 
is  beyond  the  technical  skill  of  a large  majority  of  our 
prominent  vocalists. 

In  place  of  the  skill  of  the  artists  of  former  times,  we 
have  now  an  over-development  of  the  emotional  side  of 
singing.  It  may  be  rank  heresy  to  say  so,  but  it  is  never- 
theless true  that  most  modern  singers  have  too  much 
intensity.  What  is  the  result?  It  is  in  singing  as  it  is 
in  every  day  life.  The  man  or  woman  who  is  habitually 
keyed  up  beyond  the  normal  pitch  of  healthy  emotional 
action,  must  finally  pay  the  penalty.  The  pendulum 
which  has  swung  too  far  in  one  direction  must  ultimately 
swing  as  far  on  the  opposite  path.  The  result  with 
vocalists  is  early  collapse  and  premature  decay  of  the 
voice.  The  evil  is  sometimes  postponed  by  the  use  of 
stimulants,  but  only  for  a brief  time,  with  still  greater 
ruin  as  the  result. 

A style,  the  exact  opposite  of  the  above,  is  quite 
prevalent  in  New  England.  It  is  quiet,  sweet,  refined. 


44 


STYLE. 


and  eminently  proper  and  respectable.  It  does  not 
injure  the  voice,  but  unfortunately  it  is  so  cold  and 
colorless  that  it  makes  but  little  effect.  Yirility,  woman- 
liness, strength,  breadth,  fire,  animation,  impetuosity, 
dramatic  power, — these  are  not  injurious,  but  necessary. 
They  are  really  beneficial  to  the  voice,  provided  the 
singer  keeps  within  the  line  that  separates  true  feeling 
from  melodramatic  extravagance. 

Another  fault  is  the  notion  that  vocal  power  is  simply 
the  result  of  the  exertion  of  physical  strength.  This  is 
screaming  and  roaring,  not  singing.  The  full  voice 
should  always  have  some  strong  emotional  quality  blend- 
ed with  it.  This  is  the  only  way  in  which  a strong  tone 
can  be  made  of  good  quality. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  coming  generation  of  singers 
will  realize  that  the  voice  is  a beautiful  thing  in  itself  apart 
from  its  expressive  power,  and  that  a perfect  style  only 
exists  when  great  technical  skill  is  united  with  appropri- 
ate but  unexaggerated  emotional  expressiveness. 


45 


APPENDIX  II. 


THE  OLD  ITALIAN  SCHOOL. 


Giulio  Caccini  was  one  of  the  founders  of  solo  singing 
with  instrumental  accompaniment.  The  preface  to  his 
“ JV'uove  Musiche ” (Florence,  1601-2)  contains  a few  di- 
rections regarding  the  use  and  training  of  the  singing 
voice.  There  is  a copy  of  this  work  in  the  Public  Library 
of  Boston. 

Caccini  advocates  the  use  of  all  vowels,  but  prefers  the 
open  ones.  He  makes  a distinction  between  the  full, 
natural  voice  and  feigned  or  counterfeited  voices  or  tones 
(“le  voci  finte”),  and  apparently  advises  all  singers 
( except  probably  the  male  falsettists,  who  in  his  day  sang 
treble  and  alto  songs)  to  shun  the  feigned  voice.  This 
was  an  easy  thing  to  do,  as  the  music  for  soprano  and 


tenor  voices  did  not  go  above 


time.  According  to  Caccini  the  singers  who  used  the 
natural  voice  did  not  have  to  pay  much  attention  to  the 
respiration,  except  in  preparing  for  long  phrases  ; but  those 
who  employed  “ le  voci  finte  ” were  especially  in  need  of 
breath.  This  covers  about  all  he  has  to  say  about 
method,  except  that  he  directs  the  production  of  the  trill 
by  a stroke  in  the  throat. 

After  Caccini  there  was  no  celebrated  teacher  until 
Pistocchi  who  established  a school  at  Bologna  about  1700. 


46  SOME  MODERN  TEACHERS  AND  INVESTIGATORS.  , 

He  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  to  teach  methodically  the 
placing  and  emission  of  the  voice,  the  correct  articulation 
of  running  passages  as  well  as  phrasing  and  dramatic  ex- 
pression. (u  Biographie  Universelle  des  Musiciens  ” by 
Fetis,  articles  on  u Pistocchi”  and  u Bernacchi”). 

The  greatest  teacher  of  the  time  immediately  following 
Pistocchi,  in  fact  the  greatest  the  world  has  had,  was 
Porpora  (1686-1767) . He  left  no  written  account  of 
his  method,  but  it  is  known  that  he  kept  his  pupils  for 
years  on  technical  exercises.  His  “ Solfeggi  fugati ” 
have  been  published  by  Breitkopf  and  Hartel,  Leipsic, 

Porpora’s  greatest  contemporary  among  teachers  was 
Bernacchi  (1690-1756),  a pupil  of  Pistocchi  and  a cele- 
brated singer  as  well.  Mancini  was  Bernacehi’s  pupil  • 
hence  the  work  of  Mancini  already  quoted  ( pages  38  and 
34  ) probably  gives  a fair  idea  of  the  method  of  Pistocchi 
and  Bernacchi. 

SOME  MODERN  TEACHERS  AND  INVESTI- 
GATORS. 

The  connecting  link  between  the  old  schools  and  modern 
methods  was  the  Spaniard,  Manuel  Garcia  (1775-1832) 
( called  “ the  first  ” or  “ the  elder  ”)  who  studied  the  Italian 
styles  and  traditions  in  Italy,  especially  with  the  celebrated 
tenor  Ansani.  In  the  opera  of  Garcia’s  day  the  upward 
range  of  music  written  for  the  tenor  voice,  and  the  range 
downwards  of  music  written  for  the  female  voice  was 
greater  than  it  is  to-day.  Hence  Garcia  employed  the  old 
falsetto  a great  deal  with  his  tenors,  and  developed  the 
chest  voice  to  such  an  extent  in  the  lower  part  of  female 
voices  as  to  sometimes  create  in  the  middle  of  the  voice  a 
gap  of  several  dead,  unsatisfactory  tones.  The  result  was 
not  perfect  art,  but  the  singer  was  able  to  produce  extra- 


SOME  MODERN  TEACHERS  AND  INVESTIGATORS.  47 


ordinary  effects  of  contrast  between  brilliant  high  tones 
and  powerful  low  ones. 

The  man  who  revolutionized  the  art  of  tenor  singing  was 
a Frenchman,  Duprez  (1806-18-  ).  He  brought  two 
things  into  enduring  popularity.  One  was  the  frequent  use 
of  the  sombre  voice,  the  other  was  the  “ ut  de  poitrine  ” or 
“ chest  high  C.”  The  tenors  of  the  old  schools  used  dark 
tones,  but  only  rarely.  ( “ Memoir e sur  une  nouvelle  espece 
de  voix  chantee ,”  by  Diday  and  Petrequin.  In  the  Bos- 
ton Public  Library. ) They  also  employed  the  chest  voice 
on  the  high  notes,  but  only  for  effects,  and  not  above 


( “ Etudes  Eiographiques , etc . ” by 


Mm.  Escudier  Freres.  Paris,  1840,  pages  64  and  74.) 

Duprez’s  innovations  were  immensely  stirring,  but  they 
have  since  wrecked  many  a voice,  through  over  use. 

A Parisian  physician,  Dr.  Bennati,  one  of  the  leading 
throat  specialists  of  his  day,  in  a work  entitled  “ llecher- 
ches  sur  le  mecanisme  de  la  voix  humaine”  ( Paris,  1882  ), 
a copy  of  which  is  in  the  library  of  the  Boston  Athenaeum, 
gave  the  results  of  observations  made  on  the  back  of  the 
mouth  and  palatal  region  during  the  act  of  singing.  As  sub- 
jects he  had  the  greatest  artists  of  his  time,  in  other  words 
some  of  the  greatest  singers  that  ever  lived.  Among  them 
were  Sontag,  Catalani,  Lablache,  Pisaroni,  Rubini,  and 
Donzelli.  He  found  that  the  lower  register  in  all  kinds  of 
voices  was  accompanied  by  an  open  position  of  the  back 
of  the  mouth,  caused  by  a rising  and  enlarging  of  the  arch  of 
the  soft  palate  ; while  with  the  pure  head  voice  in  sopranos 
and  the  falsetto  in  tenors  the  back  of  the  mouth  was  al- 
most closed  by  a lowering  and  contraction  of  this  arch. 
In  cases  where  the  upper  tones  were  sung  in  the  lower 
register,  for  robust  effects,  the  back  of  the  mouth  was  ap- 


48  SOME  MODERN  TEACHERS  AND  INVESTIGATORS. 


parently  somewhat  less  open  than  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
voice,  but  not  nearly  so  closed  as  in  the  head  and  falsetto 
tones. 

The  “second”  Manuel  Garcia,  (1805  — ) carried  out 
his  father’s  method  into  great  minuteness  of  detail  and 
with  important  original  additions.  His  invention  of  the 
laryngoscope  and  his  work  (“ Garcia's  Method ”)  have 
already  been  noted  ( pp . 16 , ly  and  40  ).  He  departs  from 
the  registration  of  the  old  school  by  dividing  the  old  upper 
register  ( falsetto  or  head  voice)  into  two  registers.  The 
lower  of  the  two  he  calls  falsetto,  the  upper  head  register . 
I11  other  words,  with  him  falsetto  means  a medium  tone, 
between  head  and  chest.  He  uses  all  three  registers  (head, 
falsetto  and  chest  ) in  the  female  voice,  but  objects  to  the 
use  of  the  head  voice  by  men,  except  very  sparingly. 
His  registration  changes  somewhat  for  each  class  of  voices. 
Roughly  speaking,  it  may  be  said  that  in  female  voices  he 

# 


carries  the  chest  register  to 


uses  the  falsetto  in 


the 


range  ^ 


g 


above 


=#2: 


, and  places  all  tones 


jiizjizi  ^ie  head.  In  treating  the  male 


voice  he  allows  basses  and  baritones  to  carry  the  chest  reg- 

Gl- 


ister to 


tenors  to  — ! t — , and  with  all 


male  voices  places  the  falsetto  from 


He  began  by  using  chest  expansion  with  flattened  abdo- 
men for  both  inspiration  and  support.  In  later  editions 
of  his  work  he  has  advocated  raising  the  chest  and  lower- 


SOME  MODERN  TEACHERS  AND  INVESTIGATORS.  49 


in g the  diaphragm  in  inspiration,  and  reversing  the  process 
in  expiration.  In  his  latest  work  (<c  Hints  on  Singing , " 
Schuberth  & Co.,  N.  Y.)  he  again  advises  raising  the  ribs 
and  drawing  in  the  stomach  in  inspiration.  He  uses  all 
timbres,  open  and  closed,  bright  and  dark,  and  lays  espe- 
cial stress  on  the  development  of  a vigorous  stroke  of  the 
glottis  in  starting  the  tone. 

The  elder  Lamperti  ( 1813-18- ) revived  the  prac- 
tice of  those  Italian  teachers  of  earlier  eras  who  insisted 
that  the  foundation  of  good  singing  was  a proper  breath 
support.  ( “ A Treatise  on  the  Art  of  Singing  ” by 
Francesco  Lamperti.  Schuberth  & Co.,  FT.  Y.)  But 
unlike  the  school  of  Bernacchi,  Lamperti  avoided  the 
use  of  the  upper  chest  in  breathing  and  in  tone  support, 
and  placed  his  main  reliance  on  the  diaphragm  and 
abdominal  muscles  alone.  ( u Dietionary  of  Music  and 
Musicians ,”  by  Grove,  article  on  Lamperti.)  Like  Gar- 
cia he  used  three  registers  in  the  female  voice  and  two 
in  the  male,  but  instead  of  the  term  “falsetto,”  he  used 
the  term  u mixed  voice,”  and  thus  avoided  the  confusion 
inseparable  from  the  use  of  the  former  term.  His  regis- 
tration is  as  follows  : — 


Female  Voice.  Male  Voice. 


( It  goes  without  saying  that  notes  written  in  the  treble 
clef  are  sung  in  the  male  voice  an  octave  lower  than  they 
are  written.) 

He  placed  the  voice  on  the  open  Italian  a,  formed  in 
the  bottom  of  the  throat,  and  advised  u drinking  in  ” the 
tone. 


50  SOME  MODERN  TEACHERS  AND  INVESTIGATORS. 


Madame  Marche  si  is  a German  living  in  Paris.  She 
studied  under  Nicolai  and  the  second  Garcia  Musik- Lex- 
ikon”  by  Riemann).  She  has  trained  the  female  voice 
only.  In  her  U Art  de  Chant , op . 21  (Collection  Litolff  ), 
she  advocates  diaphragmatic  ( or  abdominal ) inspiration, 
and  condemns  both  clavicular  and  lateral  breathing;  but 
does  not  speak  of  supporting  the  voice  by  the  breath. 
She  produces  the  tone  with  a natural  stroke  of  the  glottis, 
using  the  vowel  a ( Italian  ) slightly  sombered.  She  car- 


ries the  chest  voice  to 


register  to 


and  the  medium 


( The  tones  above  this  limit  are 


sung,  of  course,  in  the  head  register.) 

The  most  celebrated  teacher  now  doing  active  work  is 
Sbriglia.  He  has  published  a set  of  technical  studies,  but 
no  printed  “ Method.”  The  following  points  concerning 
his  system  are  summarized  from  notes  of  instruction  re- 
ceived by  the  author  personally  and  of  lessons  received  by 
others  in  his  presence. 

Sbriglia  follows  the  old  school  in  making  the  breath  sup- 
port the  foundation  of  all  vocal  development,  and  agrees 
with  Mancini  in  making  the  chest  the  important  factor. 

In  placing  the  voice  he  usually  avoids  the  subject  of 
registers,  insisting  that  if  the  pupil  will  direct  all  tones 
toward  the  region  embracing  the  forehead,  the  bridge  of 
the  nose,  the  cheeks,  the  roof  of  the  mouth  and  the  lips, 
and  will  properly  support  the  voice,  the  registers  will  take 
care  of  themselves.  He  uses  the  sounds  mi-ra  and  tu-ro 
( Italian  pronunciation,  except  the  u which  has  the  French 
sound  ) and  employs  both  open  and  closed  tones.  Some- 
times he  advises  the  smiling  position  of  the  mouth,  at 
others  the  protrusion  of  the  lips,  thus  gaining  both  bright 
and  dark  colors. 


SOME  MODERN  TEACHERS  AND  INVESTIGATORS.  51 


He  makes  the  head  voice,  or  falsetto,  produced  with  the 
closed  position  of  the  back  of  the  mouth  already  noted  in 
the  paragraph  on  Bennati,  and  properly  supported , the 
root  of  the  voice.  By  this  he  does  not  mean  the  com- 
monly used,  lifeless  falsetto,  for  the  chest  support  makes 
the  tone  firm  and  ringing,  and  capable  of  development 
into  great  power. 

Among  modern  scientific  investigators,  two  demand  es- 
pecial mention,  viz.:  Drs.  Mackenzie  and  Joal. 

Dr.  Mackenzie,  in  his  work  already  quoted  ( on  page 
37  of  this  work),  gives  an  account  of  observations  made 
by  him  on  the  degree  of  opening  of  the  glottis  in  the 
production  of  different  registers.  According  to  him  the 
glottis  is  usually  open  in  the  lower  part  of  the  voice,  but 
in  the  head  voice  of  women  and  the  falsetto  of  men  the 
bases  of  the  arytenoid  cartilages  and  the  rear  portions  of 
the  vocal  chords  themselves  are  usually  tightly  closed 
together.  When  the  upper  tones  are  sung  in  the  lower 
register  the  bases  of  the  arytenoid  cartilages  close,  but 
no  parts  of  the  vocal  chords  are  in  contact.  In  other 
words  the  glottis  is  usually  open  during  the  production  of 
the  lower  tones,  almost  closed  during  the  production  of 
the  head  voice  and  falsetto,  and  moderately  open  during 
the  production  of  high  tones  in  the  lower  register. 

The  reader  is  advised  to  compare  Mackenzie’s  conclu- 
sions with  those  of  Bennati. 

Dr.  Joal  in  an  article  entitled  “ The  Mechanism  of 
Breathing  among  /Singers ” (to  be  found  in  Werner's 
Magazineior  June,  July  and  August,  1893,)  gives  the  fol- 
lowing table,  which  summarizes  his  observations  on  the 
leading  singers  of  our  day  in  Paris,  ( including  Albani, 
Fursch-Madi,  Richard,  Capoul,  Gayarre,  Lassalle,  Jean  and 
Edouard  de  Reszke.) 


Of  the  23  women 


( 9 used  the  clavicular  method. 
{ 14  used  the  costal  method. 


52  SOME  MODERN  TEACHERS  AND  INVESTIGATORS. 

!11  used  the  clavicular  method. 

19  used  the  abdominal  method. 

32  used  the  costal  method. 

None  of  the  women  used  the  abdominal  method . 

By  the  costal  method  he  means  a marked  expansion  of 
the  chest,  especially  at  the  level  of  the  lower  ribs,  accom- 
panied by  total  immobility  of  the  collar  bone,  and  often 
by  a moderate  flattening  of  the  abdomen.  Dr.  Joal 
advises  this  method,  which  he  says  is  employed  by  the 
best  artists. 

The  author  has  endeavored  to  show  a w'ay  of  reconcil- 
ing the  apparent  contradictions  of  the  various  systems  of 
registration  and  respiration  one  with  another  in  his 
u Vocal  Technique ” ( Boston,  Miles  and  Thompson, 

1895.) 

\ 

Professional  singing  is  to-day  in  better  condition  than 
when  this  little  book  was  first  published.  Such  artists  as 
Lehmann,  Melba,  Jean  and  Edouard  de  Reszke,  Plar^on 
and  Lassalle  have  recreated  vocal  art. 

Much  of  the  future  depends  upon  the  artists  of  our  own 
nationality  who  are  evidently  destined  to  make  the  United 
States  an  important  factor  in  the  world’s  artistic  progress. 


* 


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